


Soft

by Voidcoffee



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, a little bit of nott, some beau and jester, there's like some mentions of the others here but nothing major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 15:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17685992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voidcoffee/pseuds/Voidcoffee
Summary: Sleeping on a cold, rough stone floor in a cavern is hard, really hard. Luckily, some people happen to be quite soft.





	Soft

Caleb tossed and turned on the cold rock floor of the cavern. The ridges cut sharply in his back. His coat was thick, but he still felt everything. Sleeping was hard enough as it was, let alone when you’re lying on something that is as far away from a bed as possible. Frumpkin lay purring on his chest. He ran his dirty, scarred fingers through his hair. In the distance, he could hear the echo of water dripping from stalactites. Everything he needed to sleep was here. Darkness, white noise, his cat. He found out now that he’d always underestimated how nice something soft to sleep on was. How vital. 

 

Unable to sleep, he found himself listening to the sounds around him. The water, the crumbling of rock, but mostly his companions. Nott’s sounds were familiar to him; they’d traveled together for so long. Yasha was silent, almost eerily so. He could hear Jester’s dress as she moved in her sleep, the fabric rustling with every move she made. Beau snored, as did Fjord. Caduceus snored too, but differently. His was softer, more like a hum than a snore, really. Occasionally, Caleb could hear one of the beetles on Caduceus’ staff flutter its wings.  The sound was like static. He sighed, his chest heavy with the burden of restlessness and exhaustion. 

 

“You’re awake,” a voice came from the dark. Caleb recognised its dulcet tones almost immediately.    
“Ja.”   
“Nightmares again?”   
“Nein. How did y-” He frowned. There was no reason for Caduceus to be aware of his nightmares. Although he did seem to know what was going on at all times, so this came as no massive surprise, really.   
“Hmm, something else then. What’s bothering you, mister Caleb?” He sighed again. He could hear the tall firbolg move, heard his clothes chafe over the rocks. A silence fell.    
“It’s nothing. You can go back to sleep.” Caduceus hummed in reply.

 

Suddenly, Caleb felt him sit down next to him. The fabric of his sleeve slid over Caleb’s face, soft, silky. The sudden shift clearly had woken Frumpkin up, as Caleb could feel his claws dig into his chest as he stretched. He jumped off. With his resting place disturbed, he set out to find a new one, preferably in the arms of one familiar goblin girl. Caduceus lay down next to Caleb. The latter instinctively shuffled closer, his body reacting to the sudden warmth in the otherwise cold cavern. Caduceus reached out. Gently, he pushed Caleb’s head onto his chest. He couldn’t help but murmur contently at how soft he was. He’d never realised before. Sure, his clothes were as soft as humanly possible, not to mention he was covered in short, fluffy hair, but he’d never really thought about it.

 

Caduceus ran his fingers through Caleb’s hair. It felt greasy, dirty, but he didn’t mind. Caleb didn’t mind either. He felt odd being coddled like that after all that he’d done; part of him felt he didn’t deserve it. Another part of him felt more than happy to let it happen. That part won. He shifted ever closer and closer until he was practically on top of Caduceus’ chest. A deep chuckle escaped him. He wrapped his arms around him, holding him gently. Caleb had baggage, he knew that, and he had a rule about being with people with baggage. The rule was simple - don’t do it. Caleb was different. He’d grown so much in the past months, and he’d continue to grow so much more. He wanted to be there for that. He wanted nothing rather than to see that sad man happy for once, and if he were the cause of that? Well, that would just sweeten the deal.

 

Before, Caleb could never sleep without his cat on his chest, or even near him. He calmed him down. Whether it was his weight, his warmth or his steady movements, he didn’t know. He just knew it helped. Tonight, he didn’t feel that way. Now without the pain of the hard underground, sleeping felt a lot more doable. He planted his head under the firbolg’s chin. Caduceus’ breathing was slow, rhythmic. Top that off with his softness and his gentle snoring, it didn’t take long for Caleb to doze off. 

 

His sleep was dreamless, but dreamless was good. Dreamless meant not having to hear his parents’ screams as they burned. Dreamless meant not feeling the scorching heat of fire on his face. Dreamless meant not seeing his home burn before his eyes. Dreamless was good, and rare. 

 

Caduceus did dream. He dreamt of the sounds of babbling brooks. He dreamt of the warmth of sunlight on his face. He dreamt of his home, safe and sound in the Savalierwood. There were no thorns in his dreams, no constant threat of infection. There, he was safe. The Blooming Grove was safe.

 

They were woken up in what could only be assumed to be the morning by the sound of their companions getting ready to depart. They could hear Nott’s feet patter about. They could hear Beau’s staff tap on the stone ground. In the distance, they could hear the echoes of Fjord and Yasha’s conversation. Jester they barely had to listen for.   
“You guys, does anyone want some donuts?!” she shouted.   
“I’ll take one.”   
“Catch!” A hand snatched the donut from the air. “Woah.” 

 

Caleb could hear footsteps coming closer. A shadow loomed over him.   
“I think Caleb might be dead, you guys.”   
“Throw a donut at him.”   
“Nein, I’m not-” Caleb’s sentence got cut short by a stale pastry hitting him in the face. He groaned and rolled off of Caduceus. Before he could even stand up, two lanky arms lifted him up.   
  


“I think it’s time we were on our way.” Caleb ran his fingers through his hair. It fell back in thick strands.   
“Ja, I think so too.”   
“And mister Caleb, if you ever find that the place we’re staying at is...not comfortable, don’t hesitate to ask.”


End file.
